On July 02, 1998, the Politburo of the Vietnamese Communist Party, for the first time ever, issued a directive to its cadres, the Vietnamese government, and the Vietnamese Fatherland Front on the treatment of religions in Vietnam.

Some observers believe this unprecedented action is to deal with new signs of the growing discontent among the followers of major religions in Vietnam, particularly members of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam, the Vietnamese Catholics Church, the Cao Dai Church, the Hoa Hao Buddhist Church.

Other analysts think this directive and the subsequent religious restrictions are part of the Party's effort to draw a new baseline before the visit by the U.N. special rapporteur on religious intolerance Abdelfattah Amor in October 1998. The new restrictions, on top of the existing oppressive laws, and those victims detained under this directive are expected to be used later as bargaining chips for the Party's other needs and wants. Using this tactic, the Party will appear making concession, and thus progress in human rights, while keeping the old baseline unchanged.

Various Vietnamese religious leaders already expressed worries of tighter control and new rounds of persecution in the coming weeks.

Following is the full translation of the said directive by the Politburo of the Vietnamese Communist Party. Readers are invited to compare this translation with that announced on the Vietnamese News Agency from Hanoi in its July 8, 1998 radio broadcast.

July 02, 1998

I - Religious situation and the task of dealing with religions:

Our country has many religions with tens of millions of followers. Religious belief is the spiritual need of a segment of the population. Our Party and government intend and implement a unified policy to respect people's freedom of religious belief and disbelief.

For more than 10 years, the reform effort has achieved many important victories. The physical and spiritual lives of people of religions have been improved. The Party's and the government's policy on religions has responded to people's justifiable wishes, fortified people's trust in the Party and government, and created excitement among people and clergies of religions. Various kind of religious activities are taking place normally, orderly, and within the borders of the laws. In general, religious leaders practice their faith in close relation with the people and appropriately to the condition of the country. Religious followers are increasingly confident, trusting, and enthusiastic in carrying out the Party's and the government's policy; in contributing to the reform effort; in bolstering the all people solidarity; in building and defending the Fatherland.

However, in some places, religious activities of a number of believers and their leaders still do not conform to the laws, such as:

- Organizing religious activities; Printing, transporting, and circulating religious printing materials; Using land, building and repairing places of worship with huge mobilization of people’s effort; not according to the regulation of the laws.

- Some people take advantage of worshiping places to practice superstition.

- Some people, that are not clergies, preach illegally.

- There remains the problem of unlawful preaching and taking advantages of religion to act against the nation's and people's interests, against the purposes of religions, and for personal gain.

At a number of places, local Party committees, the administration, and cadres in charge of dealing with religions do not fully understand the Party's and the government's intention and policy. They, therefore, have not done well the task of leading and mobilizing religious believers and leaders.

The government has not timely provided instructional documents and detail regulation on religious activities to match the new condition. The management [of religions] has shown signs of both over rigidity and over leniency. [We] have not fought with resoluteness against the improper and immoral activities of individuals that take advantage of religion to violate the laws and infringe on people's interests.

II- Principles and policies of the Party and the government on religions:

Entering the era of accelerating industrialization and modernization of the country, to mobilize people's strength to strive for the goal of "rich people, strong country, just and civilized society", the Politburo asks all level of Party and government to campaign people of religions to build on the patriotic tradition; to join enthusiastically in the reform effort; to do religious tasks well and to fulfill their duties as citizens; to build and defend the Fatherland; and to continue to carry out well the Party's and government's policy on religions by adhering to the following principles and policies:

1. Respect and guarantee citizen's freedom of belief and disbelief. All citizens have equal rights and responsibilities before the laws with no distinction between believers and non-believers, or between believers of different religions.

2. Include religious believers and non-believers in the all people solidarity.

3. All religious individuals and organizations must abide by the Constitution and the laws. They have the duties of defending the interests of the socialist Vietnam, of preserving the nation’s independence and sovereignty.

4. Those religious activities that benefit the country and people; that suit the followers' proper and lawful wishes and interests, are guaranteed. The good, moral, and cultural values of religions are respected and encouraged to develop.

5. Any abuses of religious activities to destroy social order and safety, to harm the nation's independence, to sabotage the all-people solidarity policy, to oppose the government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, to damage people's ethical values, way of life, and culture, to prevent believers and clergies from carrying out their civil duties, will be dealt with according to the laws. Superstitious practices must be criticized and eliminated.

6. All levels of Party and government, the Vietnamese Fatherland Front and its member organizations, social and religious associations have the responsibilities of carrying out well the task of mobilizing the masses and implementing properly the religious policy of the Party and government.

III- Responsibilities of the task of dealing with religions:

1. All levels of the Party and government must guarantee religious activities that are normal, healthy, and lawful. [They must] regularly care for the physical, spiritual, and cultural lives and the well-rounded advancement of people in general and religious believers in particular. [They must] mobilize believers, officials and clergies of the religions to carry out civil duties and rights, to actively participate in the development of the economy, culture, society, defense and security, and the building of new life at the local level and in residential areas.

2. All levels of the Party and government, the Vietnamese Fatherland Front and grassroots organizations, and social associations must actively propagandize, distribute, and explain the religious policy of the Party and government among the masses, particularly among believers and officials of the religions. [They must] lead the religious activities in the direction of advancing those good, healthy, ethical, and cultural values of religions that suit the people’s cultural tradition and the life of society. [They must] carry out the policy: religions must tie to the nation. Members of the religions must be in solidarity with the people to build and defend the Fatherland.

3. The government shall issue additional regulations on religious activities, draft new laws on religion and submit them to the Standing Committee of the National Assembly. These laws will become the bases for the government management and create the environment for the religions to operate normally under the laws.

The government shall have regulations and detail instructions for the operation of religious orders and religious-living groups, [the religions'] formation of funds, financial activities, charity activities, cultural and artistic activities, relationship with foreign parties, usage of land, building and preserving worship places, training clergies and officials, and other activities of the religions to conform to the Policy and the laws.

The government shall soon issue a plan to establish a publishing house charged with the publication of religious prayer books and other religious materials. [This publisher will] print a magazine with researches on religions to help the task of studying, directing, and training [cadres in charge of] dealing with religions.

4. Intensify propaganda. Instruct and help elevate religious followers' and officials' vigilance to actively prevent and defeat any conspiracies and abuses of religious activities by the adversary forces against our people's effort to build and defend the Fatherland.

5. Build and solidify the Party bases. Provide leadership in the economic, cultural, social, and defense aspects of those localities that have people of religions. Cadres, Party-members in general, and Party-members that join religions in particular, must be the models in carrying out and campaigning the religious believers to carry out well the intentions and policies of the Party and the laws of the government.

6. Refine the machinery to deal with religions at all levels and branches. Define plans and schedules to train and update cadres in charge of dealing with religions at all branches and levels.

7. The Vietnamese Fatherland Front, the grassroots organizations, and the social associations must intensify their campaigning of religious believers and officials to join the people in the reform effort. [They must] carry out the campaign "All people join force in building a new life in residential areas". [They must] build and solidify the structure of the Front and its organizations. [They must] encourage those active individuals and the patriotic movements among people of religions to achieve "better life on earth, better religious life", to jointly stabilize and develop the economy and society, to ensure security of each branch, locality, and the whole country.

IV- Planning and implementation

The government shall define clearly the responsibilities of the People's Committees at all levels, and the government ministries and offices dealing with religious activities. [The government shall] refine its system of Religious Committees. [The government shall] drive and monitor [cadres] at all levels to strictly enforce the government's regulations on dealing with religions.

The public information offices must regularly do well the task of propaganda and education of the masses on the Party's intention and policy and the government's laws on religions. [They must] showcase good individuals and good deeds among religious believers and officials. [They must] fight against superstition and any abuses of religious activities to violate the laws and distort the Party's and the government's intention and policy on religions.

All levels of Party leaders shall draw up plans to carry out this directive, assign the responsibilities of directing, monitoring, inspecting, and driving the task of dealing with religions. [They shall] report the results periodically to their superiors.

All levels of Grassroots Mobilization Committees need to coordinate with the pertinent branches and offices to help Party leaders instruct, drive, and inspect the implementation of this directive. [They shall] initiate any modifications and additions to the Party's and the government's intention and policy on religions.